The invention relates to a strand guiding roller to be used in a continuous casting plant for supporting, bending, straightening and deforming a wide, continuously cast strand, in particular a steel slab, which roller is comprised of a plurality of roller bodies arranged on an axle.
It has been known to rotatably journal roller bodies on a stationary axle, which axle is supported at a number of places over its longitudinal extension. If one of the roller bodies is damaged or worn, the strand guiding roller must be removed from the continuous casting plant for exchanging that roller body. Subsequently, depending on the length and position of the roller body to be exchanged, a number of bearings on the roller must be pressed over bearing seat locations. This is a complicated process and one by which the bearing locations may easily be damaged. Because of the higher thermal wear to which the roller bodies arranged in the middle of the roller are subjected, these roller bodies usually must be removed and installed more frequently than the others so that the above-described disadvantages become more noticeable.
Furthermore, it has been known to support the strand by driven rollers comprised of roller bodies plugged one into the other, wherein the roller bodies each are provided with a shoulder acting as a bearing pin that extends into a recess in the neighboring roller and the bodies are held together by a bracing anchor penetrating all of the roller bodies. If in such a roller, a roller body is damaged, the roller must be removed and completely disassembled, which is complicated and time-consuming.